Of Dragons and Angels
by Soultra
Summary: A prophesy in the Great Book tells of a great battle that is about to be fought. But where is the Holy Sword of the Dragon Lord and who is to use it? Please R&R UPDATED Ch 2 added!
1. Default Chapter

**Of Dragons And Angels**

The castle loomed before like a massive beast, its mouth opened wide to welcome them: its prey. Two elongated windows glowed with a sickly yellow light, like a pair of demonic eyes as its many towers rose like horns against the overcast sky.

Yet there was no question about entering.

The seven gummies walked towards the opening of the castle, fear written evidently on their faces. Zummi was in front, his hand clutched tightly around a few pages where he had hurriedly written down some spells. Behind him was Gruffi, who was trying to walk bravely despite the fact he was very afraid. Gusto, Grammi, and Tummi walked in a closely-knit group as Sunni and Cubbi brought up the rear. Cubbi had his wooden sword held out in front of him as if it was a real weapon. The other gummies had wanted him and Sunni to come at all, but the two younger gummies had followed from a distance. By the time they were discovered, it was too late to send them back to the glen.

Slowly, they made their way inside the castle. Along the walls, a series of torches made a vain attempt to dispel the gloom. Moss grew from cracks in the walls and mushrooms had made their home along the floor. It seemed no mortal being had entered this castle in a very long time.

The door slammed shut behind them and they were now trapped in the belly of the beast. Although a few of them had jumped at the noise, no one was really that surprised.

They continued down the ancient hallway, no one speaking or making a sound. Finally, they came to a large wooden door that was scarred by countless weapons. Taking a deep breath, Zummi stepped aside and motioned for Gruffi to open the door. Despite its size, the door swung open easily when Gruffi pushed upon it.

The large, circular room was dominated by a massive dragon whose red eyes glowed in the dim light. From the back of the dragon grew two giant wings, but these wings were not covered in scales like the rest of the creature. These wings were made of soft, white feathers: like that of a bird or a celestial being. The wings may have been beautiful at one time, but both were ragged and one appeared to be broken. In the dragon's forehead was a giant horn, but this too was peculiar. The horn shimmered despite the poor lighting and appeared to be almost flat. It was around this strange horn that a darkness was gathering.

The darkness looked like a black cloud that swirled around the dragon's horn and head. The dragon snapped at the darkness and tried to move away from it, dragging its useless wing across the floor. It was at this time that the darkness seemed to notice the gummies watching it.

With an almost human roar, the dark cloud moved away from the dragon and started for the gummies. Sunni screamed, but none of them could move. Within a second, the darkness would be upon them and…

"No!" Gusto cried, bolting upright in bed. Fearfully, he looked around him but found he was no longer in the castle but safe in his own dwelling. He could hear the constant, and usually comforting roar of the waterfall. To his left, lay several canvases, brushes, and cans of paint – prepared if Inspiration made a nocturnal visit. There was also one giant canvas that stretched from the floor to ceiling. That was just in case Inspiration not only visited but also brought along her sledgehammer.  Sighing aloud, he wiped a few drops of sweat from his forehead. "It was only a dream," he mumbled to himself. 

Arte Deco was sleeping soundly on a shelf. Either Gusto hadn't yelled as loud as he thought he had, or the bird was just a very deep sleeper. Maybe it was a bit of both.  After all, staying with Gusto, you either had to learn to be a deep sleeper or you went without sleep many nights. That's why he preferred to live alone. Gusto laughed at himself as he lay back down, adjusted the sheets around him. It was just a dream. Only a dream.

But he knew there would be no more sleep for him that night. 

******

            Morning came to Gummi Glen with its usual bustle of activity. Grammi was preparing breakfast while Sunni watched: trying to learn the art of cooking. Zummi was also nearby, actively offering his services as a taste-tester. Gruffi was repairing a broken doorframe as Cubbi stood ready to hand him the necessary tool. The young gummi tried to stand patiently, but kept restlessly shifting his weight from foot to foot as he looked around for something new and exciting. Zummi smiled as he walked by and down to the library.

            The Great Book sat upon its podium, always inspiring awe in the gummi sorcerer. Just to think that all the knowledge and wisdom of the ancient gummies was right there in front of him: right at his fingertips. Still smiling, he opened the Great Book.

            Suddenly, a violent yellow light shot from the book, knocking Zummi back unto the floor. He struggled to a sitting position as he watch the pages flip by themselves – the light growing stronger and stronger. Finally, the pages stopped turning as Zummi got to his feet.

            Cautiously, he made his way to the Great Book and read what was revealed to him on the page. "Oh My!" he gasped.

_Do you like it so far? If you do, then I'll go on._


	2. Part 2

****

Part 2

Lady Bane walked down the hall of her impressive castle, her shoes whispering across the marble floor. Her strides were measured, as if she had some purpose for her walk, yet her expression was unreadable. Finally, she walked into the main room and made her way over to one of the large windows that dominated the eastern wall. Motioning absently with one hand, a wineglass floated almost serenely toward her. Not even a single drop spilled as she took the glass in her well-manicured fingers and sipped at the sweet liquid. Meanwhile, her eyes never strayed from the scene outside her window. Fall had come to the forest, and the trees were basking in the bright array of colors of the season.

She didn't care for fall, but it was not because she had a preference for one season over another. She didn't care much for nature in general. Her only cares were that of power and magic – like the ones she just knew were hidden in the Gummi medallion that hung from a belt around her waist.

Those blasted bears! She suddenly spun around and threw her glass across the room. It shattered against the wall, the red wine appearing to be blood at first, but soon fading into a colorless damp spot. Lady Bane didn't notice such trivialities such as the stain, as she stood by the window – her hands clenching into tight fists. Her magic was powerful, she knew that, and her abilities went far beyond most who dared (some with impudence she thought) to call themselves sorcerers and sorceresses. Yet, those ridiculous Gummi Bears had stopped her plans at every turn. A small part of her recognized that it had been her that had sought out the Gummies originally and not the other way around, but her overwhelming anger and obsession overruled this rational part.

"They will not stop me," she growled, "Not for long. I will have my vengeance!" Her rant was rudely interrupted by a knock on the front door.

Lady Bane paused. Surely, she had to be hearing things. She wasn't expecting any visitors and everyone knew better than to show up at her door unannounced. Maybe the Gummies really had driven her insane. Just then, the knock repeated itself.

A smile slowly spread itself across her face as her dark eyes began to sparkle. It was a visitor, she thought, as she made her way over to her chair and sat down. Using her magic, she opened the large doors and caused the carpet to ripple inward, conveying her visitor to this very room. This stranger no doubt would provide her some amusement.

Soon, a strange man came into view and Lady Bane surveyed him carefully. He wasn't a tall man and, at 5'7", Lady Bane would have towered over him had she been standing. His dark hair, bleached brown from almost constant sunlight, was receding from his already high forehead and his eyebrows, perpetually black despite the harshness of the sun, hung in unruly clumps too close to his dark eyes. His build was slender, but the taunt muscles in his tanned arms were evident of the hardships in his life.

A peasant, Lady Bane thought, or perhaps a beggar – but she found herself hesitant to categorize the man so quickly. There was a certain pride and elegance in his stance, as if he was unaware he was clothed in a dirty, green frock with ragged patches and holes. There was something regal in his bearing, but this really didn't surprise the sorceress. There were uprisings in many kingdoms and those members of the royal families that were not killed were forced into a life of poverty and anonymity.

"Who are you?" Lady Bane asked, "And why have you come here?"

The man smiled slightly revealing his small, straight teeth. "Milady," he began, bowing, "I am but a humble merchant of magical items and artifacts. I have come here to see if you wish to purchase any of these items. And my name, dear lady, is Gabe."

Lady Bane returned the smile, but her eyes narrowed slightly. This man almost had to be misplaced royalty – it was in the way he spoke. His enunciation was flawless and, despite the bows and titles he had presented her with, he spoke like a man who almost demanded attention.

But there was something else just under the surface – a game of some sort. She could sense it; him carefully laying out the pieces as he waited for his next move. "But where are you wares?" she questioned.

"Outside. My wagon is quite dirty and the wheels are caked with mud. I thought it would be impolite to bring into your beautiful castle." Gabe's answer made perfect sense, just as Lady Bane expected it too.

"But how can I buy anything if I can not see what you have?" Lady Bane continued, "We need to bring your wagon inside, for now." She moved her right hand slightly and within minutes the wagon came floating into the room. As the wagon slowly settled upon the floor, she watched his face carefully to see if his expression changed. 

His face remained the same as he walked over to his wagon and removed the dirty tarp from the top. "Here is what I have to sell," he announced.

Lady Bane stood and casually made her way over to him. She was still aware that he seemed to be playing a game of some sort, but was not worried. He would soon find that she was a difficult opponent. Intrigued, Lady Bane forgot all about her frustrations surrounding the Gummies for the first time in quite a while as she looked at what Gabe had to offer.

(())(())(())(())(())

"You have to come quick!" Zummi yelled, running into the dining hall.

"What's wrong?" Gruffi demanded his hammer still in his hand. Cubbi looked excitedly at Zummi, hoping that whatever had upset Zummi so had something to do with an adventure.

"Something in the Great Book," Zummi stated, "You have to come see!" 

"What is it?" Grammi asked, wiping her hands on a towel. Sunni was standing behind her also watching Zummi intently.

Zummi struggled for a minute to try and explain what he had read, but he soon found it was impossible. "You'll have to read it for yourself," he finally said, as he turned to walk back towards the library.

Curious, the other Gummies followed. As they went down the hall, Zummi told them and how the pages in the Great Book turned by themselves and the bright light he had seen. Finally, the made their way into the library where the Great Book lay open, but it was no longer glowing. 

"You have to listen to this," Zummi said, as he walked over to the Great Book, "The book opened to this page – as if it wanted me to read this."

"There will come forth one who is dead but walks endlessly upon the Earth and he shall seek the fallen warrior of the light in an attempt to end a battle fought long ago in which there was no victor. He shall use one who has much yet desires more by tempting those desires with the promise of the weapon formed and fused by the dark blood and holy light. The blade is the key to fallen's identity and it will unlock both destruction and rebirth. A choice must be made to sacrifice accepted truths and allow the spawn of the fallen to rise once more."

"Wow!" Cubbi said, "But what does it mean?"

"I'm not really sure," Zummi admitted, "but I think it's some sort of prophecy."

"A lot of good a prophecy does if we can't understand it," Gruffi stated.

"But we need to try," Zummi insisted, "I have a feeling that whatever this prophecy is talking about is going to happen soon. That's why the Great Book opened to this very page."

Gruffi nodded. "Then keep trying to figure out what it's saying," he said, "So we know what we need to prepare for. Right now, we'll just have to try to be ready for anything."

Zummi agreed absently as his eyes went back to the page before him. What was the prophecy trying to tell them?

(())(())(())(())(())

Gabe had a few surprisingly good items mixed in with the expected junk. Lady Bane had found two nice spell books and even an original copy of Cara's "The History of Magic." She was more convinced than ever that there was more to Gabe than what was on the surface, but she was still pleased with what she had found. "I guess I'll take these," she said, aloofly, "It's not what I wanted, but I suppose it's the best I'll find in this pile of trash."

Gabe's smile widened. "Very good, milady," he said, "Oh, I do have one other little thing you might be interested in." He opened a secret compartment on the side of his wagon and pulled out a large item that was wrapped in a dirty sheet. Removing the wrapping he revealed an object, which Lady Bane recognized to be the hilt of a sword. It was in the shape of a dragon with its wings outstretched. In the dragon's paws was a large red-black gem that twinkled in the light.

"That gem," Lady Bane began.

"Dragon's blood," Gabe confirmed, "From one of the giant demonic dragons to the west. As you already know, a gem formed of the blood of one of those dragons can increase one's magical abilities immensely."

"Yes, I know," she confirmed. Picking up the hilt, she felt immeasurable power surge through her body. "So it is a magical intensifier?"

"Well, yes but that is not all it is. It is the hilt of an ancient sword. And, if the hilt is this powerful, you can just imagine what the entire weapon could do."

"Where is the blade?" Lady Bane demanded.

"That, my dear lady, is not the problem," Gabe answered, mysteriously.

(())(())(())(())(())

From outside of Lady Bane's castle, two cloaked figures stood in the shadows as they listened to the conversation. The taller of the two shook his head sadly as his mouth, which was the only portion of his face that was visible, trembled as if he was about to cry. "It is as we feared," he whispered to his companion, "Our brother's sin will be upon this world once more."

The second figure, which was obviously female, nodded, but didn't say a single word in return. Her own small mouth was set firmly.

"If only we could find his seed," the man continued, "but so far our search has turned up nothing. Now, all we can do is stand by until he is revealed and pray that we are not too late."

(())(())(())(())(())

Gusto came into the Glen just as Grammi was setting breakfast on the table. "Looks like I'm not the only one running late," he said, with a yawn as he sat down.

"You look tired," Grammi said, "We're you up late?"

"Not really," he answered, "but I did have a really odd dream and I had trouble falling asleep after that."

"What was the dream?" Sunni inquired.

"Not sure. I can't really remember it now. It had something to do with a castle, I think. Maybe it was more like a nightmare." He yawned again.

"Trying to figure this prophecy out is a nightmare," Zummi mumbled. He had written the prophecy down on a sheet of paper and was reading over it in a vain attempt at deciphering.

"What?" Gusto asked.

"This prophecy," Zummi clarified. Quickly, he told Gusto about what had happened earlier with the Great Book.

"Strange," Gusto said when Zummi had finished, "Can I see the prophecy? I used to be good at riddles. Maybe I can figure something out."

Zummi handed Gusto the paper and watched as he silently read over it a few times. "This is weird," Gusto finally said.

"Do you have any idea what it might mean?" Gruffi asked.

"I'm not sure," Gusto admitted, "Although there seems to be a lot of imagery about good and evil."

"What do you mean?" asked Zummi.

"Well, the most obvious is the part about the weapon," Gusto explained, "It says that it was 'formed and fused by the dark blood and holy light'. Dark almost always means something evil and the light is so good it's called 'holy'. Next, you have the two people it talks about. One is dead but walking the Earth. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it doesn't sound good. At the very best, it sounds like someone who's cursed. The other is a fallen warrior of the light. There are no clues as to why he's 'fallen', but to say he's a warrior of light sounds like someone who is fighting for good. Then, there's the last part where rebirth is paired with destruction. You see: one is considered good while the other's bad."

"Do you think it could be talking about some big war between good and evil?" Grammi asked.

"I don't know," Zummi said, "But I have a bad feeling that we'll find out exactly what it means very soon.

__

So, what does the prophecy mean? You probably have some of it figured out by now, but do you undestand it all? If you do, DON'T TELL ANYONE! Hopefully my intentions aren't that obvious to everyone. Next part – Coming Soon!!!


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